3 years ago
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David Turnbull shaped in a fine second-half finish to put Celtic three upCeltic responded to back-to-back defeats against Real Betis and Livingston by strolling into the Scottish League Cup semi-finals at the expense of second-tier Raith Rovers.
The Championship visitors started well and frustrated the hosts for over 25 minutes, but Jota's first Celtic goal opened the scoring and Liel Abada nodded in a second before the break.
David Turnbull guided in a third two minutes after the interval before Raith played out the final half hour with 10 men after Dario Zanatta's dismissal.
The victory means Ange Postecoglou will guide a side out at Hampden for the first time in November's last-four tie.
Raith are still without a win over Celtic in 15 attempts since their League Cup final win in 1994.
Jota was a thorn in the side of Raith all evening and showed his intent from the off, as the Celtic winger bent a shot just wide of the far post early on.
But the away side started promisingly, moving the ball well and keeping a resolute shape, as Dylan Tait guided a tame effort wide of Joe Hart's goal.
However, John McGlynn's defence would be breached on 26 minutes when James McCarthy's inch-perfect pass was controlled by Jota, who lifted a tidy finish over Jamie MacDonald.
And the game was beyond the second-tier side when Jota again drove into the box and saw a shot parried by MacDonald, but Abada was on hand to nod home a second.
Turnbull added a third just two minutes after the restart, gliding forward unchallenged and shaping a lovely finish from outside the area into the bottom right-hand corner.
Raith were reduced to 10 men and would have feared further Celtic goals as Zanatta was shown a second yellow card for a tug on Anthony Ralston.
But to the Championship side's credit, they rallied and did not crumble as Celtic failed to add to their tally.
Man of the match - Jota
The Portuguese forward was well worth his goal and played an integral part in Abada's secondWhat did we learn?
There was no other option for Celtic than victory, but the fans would have demanded that they did it in style. With 25 minutes on the clock it looked like they might struggle to break Raith down, but the Celtic attack relaxed following Jota's opener and gave their home support a comfortable night.
Raith will not be judged on games against Celtic, but McGlynn can take pride in his side's League Cup run after progressing from the group in top spot and earning a memorable last-16 win at home to Aberdeen.
He will also take positives out his players' response to going a man down, as his team maintained a solid defensive shape to ensure the margin stayed at three.
What's next?
Celtic are at home to Dundee United in the Premiership on Sunday (15:00 BST) while Raith host Partick Thistle at the same time in the second tier.
Line-ups
Celtic
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 15Hart
- 56Ralston
- 20Carter-Vickers
- 4Starfelt
- 54Montgomery
- 16McCarthySubstituted forBittonat 69'minutes
- 14Turnbull
- 11AbadaSubstituted forJuranovicat 61'minutes
- 18RogicSubstituted forSoroat 69'minutes
- 17Neves Filipe
- 10AjetiSubstituted forScalesat 61'minutes
Substitutes
- 5Scales
- 6Bitton
- 7Giakoumakis
- 12Soro
- 23Bolingoli-Mbombo
- 26Urhoghide
- 29Bain
- 57Welsh
- 88Juranovic
Raith Rovers
Formation 4-5-1
- 1MacDonald
- 2Tumilty
- 6Benedictus
- 5Berra
- 3Dick
- 7ConnollySubstituted forFotheringhamat 71'minutes
- 15TaitSubstituted forMcKayat 71'minutes
- 23Riley-SnowSubstituted forArnottat 80'minutes
- 8MatthewsSubstituted forSpencerat 63'minutes
- 11ZanattaBooked at 59mins
- 18VarianSubstituted forPoplatnikat 63'minutes
Substitutes
- 12Lang
- 13Spencer
- 14McKay
- 17Thomson
- 21Fotheringham
- 25Arnott
- 26Mitchell
- 29Young
- 99Poplatnik
Live Text
Match ends, Celtic 3, Raith Rovers 0.
Second Half ends, Celtic 3, Raith Rovers 0.
Liam Scales (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Brad Spencer (Raith Rovers).
Foul by Ismaila Soro (Celtic).
Matej Poplatnik (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Raith Rovers. Aaron Arnott replaces Blaise Riley-Snow.
Attempt saved. Ismaila Soro (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by David Turnbull.
Attempt blocked. Kai Fotheringham (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Reghan Tumilty.
Offside, Celtic. Adam Montgomery tries a through ball, but Jota is caught offside.
Attempt saved. David Turnbull (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Adam Montgomery.
Attempt missed. Josip Juranovic (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Anthony Ralston.
Substitution, Raith Rovers. Kai Fotheringham replaces Aidan Connolly.
Substitution, Raith Rovers. David McKay replaces Dylan Tait.
Foul by Nir Bitton (Celtic).
Dylan Tait (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Celtic. Nir Bitton replaces James McCarthy.
Substitution, Celtic. Ismaila Soro replaces Tomas Rogic.
Attempt blocked. Dylan Tait (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Aidan Connolly.
Attempt blocked. David Turnbull (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by James McCarthy.
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